[02/08/13 - 08:45 AM]"Scandal" Equals Its Series High, Up for Its Second Straight Original in Adults 18-49ABC spins the numbers for Thursday, February 7.

[via press release from ABC]

"Grey's" is Up/"Scandal" Hits Series Highs

Building week to week in Adults 18-49 (+9%), ABC matched its top-rated Thursday with series programming since October, 4 2012.

During the 8 o'clock hour, ABC's repeat Shark Tank was up week to week in viewers (+4%) and young adults (+18%), drawing 23% more viewers than NBC's first-run comedies (season premiere of Community/Parks and Recreation).

Spiking over its lead-in (+138%) at 9pm, ABC's Grey's Anatomy moved up into a virtual tie for #1 in its hour in Adults 18-49 (pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point of the lead and tied in audience share), beating Fox's Idol-fueled Glee by 41% and NBC's comedies by 94% (The Office/1600 Penn). The ABC veteran drama won its time period in Adults 18-34 and across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54). Gaining 11% week to week, Grey's earned its highest Adult 18-49 rating in 4 weeks - since 1/10/12. In addition, the show equaled its best Women 18-49 number since October 18, 2012.

Delivering strong lead-in retention (90%), ABC's Scandal won the 10 o'clock hour in Adults 18-49 by 22% over CBS' Super Bowl-promoted Elementary and quadrupled NBC's Do No Harm (+300%). It was the #1 series in its time period for its 7th telecast in a row with young adults. Up for its 2nd straight original in Adults 18-49 (+4%), Scandal equaled a series high. In fact the show matched or hit new series highs across all key Adult and Women demos. Scandal improved the hour year to year by 23% in viewers and by 27% in young adults. Over the course of its last 6 originals, Scandal has earned the series' Top 6 highest-rated telecasts in Adults 18-49.

Quick Take for Thursday, February 7, 2013
(Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings)

ABC Matches its Best Thursday with Series Programming Since Early October

Spiking over its lead-in (+138%) at 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" (3.1/8) moved up into a virtual tie for No. 1 in its hour in Adults 18-49 (pacing within 1-tenth of a rating point of the lead and tied in audience share), beating Fox's "Idol"-fueled "Glee" by 41% (2.2/6) and NBC's comedies by 94% ("The Office"/"1600 Penn" = 1.6/4). The ABC veteran drama dominated its time period in Adults 18-34 and across all key Women demos (W18-34/W18-49/W25-54).

· Gaining 11% week to week, "Grey's" earned its highest Adult 18-49 rating in 4 weeks - since 01/10/13. In addition, the show equaled its best Women 18-49 number since October 18, 2012.

"Scandal" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

Delivering strong lead-in retention (90%), ABC's "Scandal" (2.8/8) won the 10 o'clock hour in Adults 18-49 by 22% over CBS' Super Bowl-promoted "Elementary" (2.3/6) and quadrupled NBC's "Do No Harm" (+300% - 0.7/2). It was the No. 1 series in its time period for its 7th telecast in a row with young adults.

· Up for its 2nd straight original in Adults 18-49 (+4%), "Scandal" equaled a series high. In fact the show matched or hit new series highs across all key Adult and Women demos. Over the course of its last 6 originals, "Scandal" has produced the series' Top 6 telecasts in Adults 18-49.

· "Scandal" improved the hour year to year by 23% in viewers (8.0 million vs. 6.5 million) and by 27% in young adults (2.8/8 vs. 2.2/6).

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 47% currently, from 43% at the same point in 2012.
More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next-day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen.

Source: The Nielsen Company, Fast Affiliate Live + Same Day Ratings, 02/07/13.